Friday, August 10, 2012

LITERATURE: Best of Contemporary Fiction from Georgia. Edited and trans. from the Georgian by Elizabeth Heighway. (publishersweekly.com)

Dalkey Archive, $29.95 (424p)

ISBN 978-1-56478-751-4

(publishersweekly.com) In this sampler of 19 short stories from the eastern European nation of Georgia, readers are treated to a wide variety of fiction: short and long, realist and surreal, traditional and experimental. In the opening story, "Debi," a young boy grapples with the sexual entreaties of his pubescent sister who is stricken with cancer. In the domestic drama, "Real Beings," a man on vacation with his family flirts with having an affair with his wife's friend at the same time that his wife considers committing suicide. The moving "Love in a Prison Cell" takes place in a transit camp for prisoners on their way to the gulag, where a younger man and an older woman exchange letters through the underground post office, and gradually fall in love. In the most unusual story, "Once Upon a Time in Georgia," a man contemplates life in his pre-Perestroika country through the lens of Sergio Leone's filmic masterpiece, 1984's Once Upon a Time in America. And the penultimate story, "November Rain," is a mini-epic about a teacher and political prisoner whose life before and after the Soviet Invasion of 1921 mirrors the tidal pull of history. In the end, this collection--which spans 50 years and is firmly grounded in Georgia's past and culture--resonates with universal human concerns and hopes. (May)

FRONTLINE CLUB GEORGIA

Frontline Georgia is a media club that aims to serve as a politically-neutral venue for journalists, public officials, students, intellectuals come together in a dialogue over media, social, political and cultural issues important for Georgia and the region. Frontline Georgia holds panel discussions, screenings, exhibitions, conferences and master classes.

Frontline Georgia’s mission is to contribute to quality journalism and exchange of views. Its Events Program will bring together the key players and thinkers in politics and the media and give a member an opportunity not only to hear from experts but to ask questions and contribute to the discussion in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

While there are other meeting places for important public discussions, Frontline Georgia is among the very few, where people from different ideological and political camps meet together. This neutrality has been one of the biggest achievements of the club, which operates in Georgia’s highly politicized and polarized social and media environment.

Ruth Olshan in her film portrays musicians who work with different approaches: a male choir searching and cultivating old folk songs in the Caucasus region, a female choir, a school dance company and musicians who enhance Georgian folk music. There is a common denominator that links the diverse protagonists in Olshan’s film: Singing, dancing and music are crucial elements of their lifestyle. Music is as important as “air to breath,” explains the director of the female choir . The subtle camera work discreetly catches moments and spontaneous encounters, showing that the rehearsals and the singing brings moments to these women where they are taken away from their normal course of life. For life in Rustavi, a small town near Tiflis, seems bleak. The industry is dead, the unemployment rate is enormous. You ask yourself how people can live. The choir women’s beauty and positive energy exude an affirmative sign of life, even in mournful moments. Men and women sing and dance both joy and sorrow off their chest. In Georgia, music seems to be omnipresent, almost existential. Even if a young singer does not think folk music is “sexy”, he still gets hooked. It gets under his skin. The film pays tribute to this fascination, vitality, and spiritedness.

IMPRESSUM

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